Interior Design Deco Delight

Designers Todd Davis and Rob Brown have spent the last de- cade on a renovation spree. The partners first remodeled a 1911 mansion in Washington’s historic Georgetown neighborhood and then, after moving to Florida in 2001, a 1980 Regency-style house in Palm Beach and a 1960s contemporary on an inlet of Miami’s Biscayne Bay. Their latest upgrade combines aspects of all those projects in upgrading and restoring a neglected 1938 Art Deco home in Miami Beach. “You can clearly see Deco as a transition point between traditional and modern architecture,” says Davis. “Through- out the house, we blended both.”

Two designers preserve a 1938 home on Biscayne Bay with respect for the architectural heritage of Miami Bea

The hybrid style of the original house allowed the partners to apply their signature elegance while adding lighter, unexpected touches and push their design in a new direction. “One of the reasons we moved to South Florida was to have more artistic freedom,” Davis notes.

They originally bought the property as an interim place to live while the renovation of their previous Miami Beach house was underway. “It was taking longer than expected and we thought it would be smarter to buy something than pay rent,” says Brown. “We were looking for something small that we could move into right away. What we found was a disaster but with amazing charm.” One of the chief draws was a large lot located on Biscayne Bay with a dramatic view of Miami’s skyline across the water.

Brown and Davis enlivened the stucco exterior with stripes recalling the banded decorations created by hotel architect L. Murray Dixon, who designed the 1938 house. A pair of Canary Island palms now flanks the entrance.

Another asset was the home’s remarkable architecture designed by a leading practitioner of the Art Deco style, L. Murray Dixon. A New York architect who moved to Florida in 1928 to start his own firm, Dixon was responsible for some of the most beautiful hotels in Miami Beach. His striking use of curves and stripes is evident in the home’s rounded bays and banded coral stone floors.

Brown and Davis initially remodeled the waterfront residence to create a base for living and working, and after selling their previous home in Miami Beach, undertook a more extensive renovation. “The view always drew us back to this property,” says Brown. The partners faithfully revived Dixon’s architecture but also updated it for today by opening the kitchen and turning the adjacent dining space into a family room with a view of the water.

The drawing room mixes traditional and contemporary pieces, including a Waterford chandelier, a 1940s rug, a driftwood lamp and a Warhol print over the original fireplace mantel.

On the stucco exterior, they painted horizontal stripes of tan and cream to accentuate the curved prows of the shiplike house and recall the banded decorations of Dixon’s hotels. The piano-shaped swimming pool behind the house was rebuilt and the area around the front driveway landscaped with 12-foot-tall ficus hedges to screen the house from the parking area. To mark the location of the home’s entrance, two Canary Island palms were planted on either side of the path leading to the front door.

At the west end of the drawing room , two chairs by the designers are pulled up to an 18th-century Regency table set with a blue nude by French artist Yves Klein. The painting, Lola, is by English artist Jason Martin.

As in all their homes, the designers created a foyer that is both an entrance hall and an art gallery. A limestone-topped table and an ebony bench create a visual study in contrasts that is repeated in the artworks. A bronze figure with outstretched arms is juxtaposed against the abstraction, Reef, by English artist Jason Martin.

Centering the dining space is a mahogany table by Dessin Fournir. Pillows on the banquette and the feathered pendant lamp are from NiBa, a store in Miami’s design district.

The most formal space in the house, a 40-foot-long drawing room, best reflects Dixon’s blend of traditional and modern influences. The fireplace is surrounded by a Neo- classical mantelpiece, while the coral stone floors are bordered in bold stripes, which are stained in black and green. “The proportions are perfect,” says Davis. “It was a matter of preserving the simple moldings and beautiful floors that a good architect had designed.”

He and Brown played up the drawing room’s decorative contrasts by installing an 18th-century Waterford crystal chandelier, a stacked driftwood lamp, plus an Andy Warhol silkscreen of a gorilla over the mantel. Two mohair sofas that “have traveled with us for years,” says Brown, were arranged on either side of a pouf, which the two recently replaced with a low, lacquered coffee table.

Up a few steps, past Dixon’s streamlined, fluted columns, the family room is filled with comfortable armchairs, a tufted ottoman and an L-shaped sofa, all designed by the homeowners. Upholstery in ivory textured silk and linen complements the coral stone floors and white marble countertop on the adjacent kitchen island.

On the opposite side of the kitchen, the light upholstery is repeated on chairs and a banquette arranged around a circular mahog- any dining table. A feather-covered lampshade and peacock-feather-printed pillows add touches of whimsy. The designers primarily use this space for client presentations, preferring to dine and entertain on the terrace off the family room. “We’ve actually had our Washing- ton, DC, clients come to our Miami Beach house just as an excuse to have a holiday,” says Brown.

Upstairs, the master bedroom is enclosed by a curved wall of windows facing the bay. “The view is like that from a ship,” says Davis. “You feel like you are floating on water.” Instead of painting the room in a pastel shade, the two custom-mixed a deep gray inspired by the color of their dog Madison. “When the walls are darker, your eye is drawn to the light from the windows and the room becomes more about the view,” explains Brown.

The guest room down the hall is framed by a similarly rounded bay and furnished in warmer tones. It is filled with the designers’ favorite pieces—a chair designed for the British embassy and a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk. The bright coral of the bedside lamp, a ceramic design also chosen by Brown Davis for the homes of presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, was custom-matched to the silk drapes.

Since moving to Miami, the designers have broadened their client base from Washington power brokers to pop and movie stars seeking South Florida getaways. “It helps that we open our home and share who we are and what we do,” says Brown. Guests are particularly drawn to the waterfront where passing kayakers, sailboats and cruise ships enliven the vista. “Our view has really changed since we moved here,” says Davis. “The city of Miami has grown so quickly that four new high-rises have been added to the skyline.”

That growth has spilled into Miami Beach where some of the older Deco houses like the one renovated by Brown and Davis have been razed to make way for larger development. “It was important to preserve this house,” says Brown. “It’s important to the history of Miami Beach and it has a real sense of its place.” One reward for their painstaking redo was a visit from the grandson of the owner who built the home. “He was so happy to see that the house was still loved,” recalls Brown. “That in itself was worth the effort.”